Just a Letter
by crimsonjasper
Summary: Who knew a letter written to someone could cause so much jealousy, rage, separation, and drama? UY
1. Introduction

Let me say that my reasons were writing this story were because:

1. It is really boring to only work on one story at once all the time. CCE just got updated, but I have way more potential than that.  
2. I've had this chapter on my computer for so long. I really need it to get some fresh air.  
3. I am a greedy, review-hungry person. Yup yup.  
4. I have lots of Code: Lyoko fics. No duh.

(Under default, I must tell you that none of Code: Lyoko is under my power. And so it goes...)

* * *

It was a beautiful spring day, and many students of Kadic High spent their days outside.

A certain boy named Ulrich Stern was not outside. Many students would be surprised. After all, he was the star soccer player of Kadic, and he spent much of his time practicing for upcoming games. Nobody was surprised, however. He was a quiet boy who minded any person minding his business. No one understood him (except for his friends, which we will get to later).

He was writing on an abused piece of loose leaf paper. He crumpled it up in the palm of his hand quickly, embarrassed.

He was writing poetry, and it was easier than he thought. It was normal. His troubles brought him to finish one page. He was trying to finish as least as possible to make it easier to rip and throw away the piece of shame and evidence of his feelings. One page was enough for him to hide and throw away with his guilt. It was already enough that he had a journal.

His friend, Jeremie, entered the room as he was about to tear the paper. Generally, Jeremie was a genius. He completed assignments the fastest out of each student in the school. Other students rumored about his intelligence, saying that he was smarter than the entire student body, including the teachers. Actually, he would have gone to a better school. In his circumstances, he stayed.

Ulrich was about to freak out until he saw the look of stress, anxiety and sadness on Jeremie's face.

"Did you see Aelita? I can't find her!" Jeremie looked around anxiously. "And I usually know where she is at all time."

Which was kind of ironic, he thought. "No," he answered, annoyed.

Aelita was a carefree, pink-haired girl, which made her unique. While many of the girls worried about their make-up and stared into their compact mirrors for any disfigurations, Aelita worried about her friends, preferring to glance at trees and schoolwork instead of her face. One of her greatest weaknesses was standing right in front of Ulrich, sweaty and breathless.

"Fine, I'll leave you to your late school work!" Jeremie backed away. "See you later, Ulrich," he said, closing the door behind him.

"I swear," Ulrich muttered, taking the paper back into his hands. He reread his paper and softened his look. He really needed to do something about his life...

The door opened. Yumi came in, and he hid the paper behind his back. Behind Yumi came William. He reddened suddenly as Yumi closed the door behind her, annoyed. "Happy?" Yumi snapped at William. William looked around the room, and Ulrich was instantly annoyed.

Yumi was another person in this group. She was a Japanese girl whose test scores averaged slightly lower than Jeremie. She was so smart, Ulrich wondered why she did not get a summons from some brain-drain school. However, he knew he would not live with Yumi at another school. To be even more basic, his weakness, his reason, his life. He probably could live without her boyfriend though.

"What's he doing here?" Ulrich asked her, frowning. He frowned at William.

"What's...?" William began, pointing at Ulrich's clenched fist.

"Is this enough for you?" Yumi inclined her neck, interrupting William's response. "You always want to mind people's business like you're some kind of..."

"I was just about to throw it out," Ulrich replied nervously, balling the paper and missing as he tried to throw it into the wastebasket. He shook his head as he sat on his cot. It was too bad he had to interrupt. He wanted to watch William and Yumi argue.

"I heard that the team's good this year," William started, sitting on the cot opposite Ulrich's. He stood up quickly, brushing off his hands and pants to sit on the floor instead, crumbs bouncing off of the carpet floor.

"It's always been good," snapped Ulrich, glaring slightly. What was his deal?

"Just saying." He put up his hands in a defensive position and Ulrich tried to resist the urge to yell. Yumi would never trust him if he beat William's snug face to a pulp. He stood up.

"I have to get a drink," he explained, closing the door behind him.

He stumbled as the door opened again with his hand still around the knob. Yumi came out, sighing in relief. He stood up nervously, his brain cautioning him a blush warning.

"It's not my fault, honest! William wanted to come see you guys. Sorry, but I had no reason to say no!"

"How about 'It's none of your business?'" he whispered. The doors of the dorms were not soundproof, unfortunately.

"Sorry!" He sighed at the look on her face, rolling his eyes. He had no reason to be mad. He took a deep breath. "I had to make sure you were all right," she added, then turned to enter his room again. "You never know what he might do."

As the door closed behind her, he became aware of the situation. Yumi and William were alone in his dorm. His ear leaned on the door. Maybe he was underestimating Yumi. After all, he could hear nothing. He shrugged, opening the door to find them busy in conversation.

"Well, I'm going to leave now." William stood up, brushing off his pants automatically. His eyes instantly met Ulrich's eyes. "I have homework to do."

When William closed the door behind him, Ulrich was scowling. "What were you guys talking about?"

"Take it easy. We were just talking about the soccer team and the tournament coming up. Unfortunately, he wants to join." She stood up awkwardly.

"I'll be sure that son-of-a-gun never joins the team," he muttered a bit too loudly. "You had him sit on my bed? I sleep there!"

She crossed her arms. "You're being a bit too rash. After all, who said the soccer team was full? They need new players after all, so don't even get me started, Ulrich."

"I don't believe that you're protecting him, Yumi! Why don't you just go marry him? Then you don't have to deal with a loser like me," he finished off.

"Are you serious?" she asked him, uncertain.

"Yes. Now leave and get away from my sight." Quietly, Yumi left his room, so stunned that she did not even close his door.

Ulrich sighed, pulling his hair back. What did he just do?

* * *

Yumi was home already. In her room. On her bed, finished her homework. School was a complete bummer. The moment Ulrich yelled at her, her whole day was a bust. No one laughed when she gave Sissi a comeback that was quite bad, and William seemed more unbearable today.

She left her head in the pillow, not caring it was more difficult to breathe.

Was the argument some kind of sign that Ulrich was not the one for her? She did believe that each person had another one in the world, no matter where or when. This must be some kind of sign.

She rose her head, her hair a mess. If she asked this each time Ulrich and her had an argument, then she would be some hopeless romantic... She blew upwards, her cell phone ringing with a new text message from...

...Ulrich.

She deleted it the moment she saw the letter U.

What was she doing? She felt a little bit close to suicidal, and she did not need this with her arguing parents, did she? What did she ever do wrong?

She felt a headache come in, so she took some pills and fell asleep for the night to overtake her.

* * *

Ulrich had tried every means of communication: voicemail, and just about everything on cell phone. She would not answer him. Maybe he did do the worst thing ever in his life. It maybe surpassed when he broke his ankle and could not play soccer for his last school.

He sighed. "I shouldn't have been so rude." He called her voicemail again, once again hearing her answering machine. "Darn it!"

"Yeah, Ulrich. You really must've messed up. Yumi always answers back on a text message." Ulrich almost regretted telling Odd about it.

Odd, his independent and unique dorm mate was his best friend. He understood everything about Ulrich crushing girls would dream of knowing. Odd had a popularity of his dating history and he did not depend on his status of being friends with Ulrich.

"What should I do?" Ulrich was very desperate to be even asking Odd for advice.

Odd sat up straighter. "Remember when she got real mad at Sissi? She stayed locked up in her room for four hours and came out really grumpy. That was one of the worst moments I've ever had with you guys. I didn't even want to enter my dorm." He shrugged in meaningless indifference.

"Um, Odd. I think you're talking about me." Ulrich felt ashamed as Off looked up at the window in thought.

"Oh... yeah! Oh..." He dawned onto his realization, then began to laugh crazily. "You were," he almost choked, which was unfortunate for Ulrich, "you were having a girly tantrum! Sissi got you so mad?"

"It's not that funny," Ulrich mumbled.

"Anyway, give her time to cool off." Aelita entered the room, closing the door behind her. "Don't try to look so surprised, Odd. You guys are so noisy, I could hear you from the door at the end of the hallway!"

Odd blushed immediately. "Just let her cool off, Ulrich. She'll get over it, but it depends on what set her off." She looked at him expectantly.

Ulrich huffed. "William came into this dorm, and he sat on my bed."

"On mine too?" Odd asked him, his face ready to frown.

"No, he felt crumbs on it," Ulrich said.

"Good," Odd replied in relief as Aelita giggled.

"So we got into an argument and she left," Ulrich continued.

"Did she even argue?" Odd asked.

"Well, no," Ulrich admitted.

"Then you have to apologize," Aelita advised him.

He sighed. "Why does she have to make life so complicated?"

"Maybe you shouldn't have yelled at her," Aelita reprimanded him.

"Yeah, Ulrich. Even I know that with my experience." Odd commented, shutting his mouth as he caught Ulrich's angry gaze.

"Just shut up," Ulrich snapped, his tongue at the edge of his mouth as he tried to give Yumi another message.

* * *

Soccer jocks were usually the love of the school. They were lean and strong at once, and they were very flexible. It was cool the way their hair fell over their eyes. However, it was not cool that the soccer jock of her school was her obsession. She lost her feeling of individuality. Now she was like every other girl in the school.

Yumi burst awake, shaking her head tiredly. She stood up, her body wobbling. Those pills must have really knocked her out last night.

She studied her clock, finding it was 10:36 PM. It was still 'last night.' She stretched; she could not sleep anymore. Slow and heavy paces took her to the door until she heard a knock on the window. She turned around, studying the window as it made another sound.

Two rocks, each with a message tied on with red string were there on the window counter when she walked to the window and opened it. She picked each one up, taking them to her room and closing her window.

The messages were written on thick, red paper. She had difficulty in unfolding the papers, but she was excited. She never received secret letters before. Her life was pretty boring.

After reading the first letter, her heart swelled, and she fell back on her bed. She was in love; she knew it. It was too bad the person never left his name. She sighed.

"Ulrich..." She mumbled on her lips, then began reading the second letter. When she finished it, she dropped it, running to look outside of her window to find no one there.


	2. Altercation

Disclaimer: I don't know Code: Lyoko.

A/N: The last chapter was supposed to end in mystery. This chapter pretty much sums up almost everything. Thanks for the reviews : Totally appreciated.

* * *

Yumi was already at school, reading the letter over and over again. It was such a beautiful mixing of the words, and they were for her. She sighed, then frowned. She just had to read the other note.

"Hey, get my letter?" She was startled by William at the front gate. She smiled.

"Yeah," she replied, holding it up for him to see. "Didn't know you've got that kind of talent."

"Well, now you do," he said, his arm over her shoulders. "What was your reaction?"

"Well," she began, "to be honest, I first thought Ulrich wrote it, because he is so mysterious. You never know what he may be thinking."

He shrugged. "So...?"

She smiled warmly. "Let's begin with our fairytale, eh?"

* * *

Ulrich searched the room, miserable. He could not find that letter he was so busy on this week.

"Where was it last?" For once, Odd missed lunch to help his friend. He searched the closets. "Do you think William did anything?"

He frowned. "He better not." Or else I'll beat him where the sun don't shine, he thought, gritting his teeth.

"I'm done with this," Odd said, stretching from his closet. "I just searched through my underwear seventeen times, I swear." He had a serious look on his face.

"Why would I put it in your underwear drawer?" Ulrich asked him, leafing through his bed sheets again.

"So I searched my underwear for nothing?" he asked incredulously. He sighed, heaving his shoulders. "I'm starving from hunger."

"Then go," said Ulrich, putting his sheets back in place. "I'll come to first period class."

"Are you sure?" Odd's hand was on the knob.

"Yeah, go," Ulrich shooed him away, and Odd rushed out of the room. He sighed. Odd was impossible.

"God, I wish it did not go one inch out of this room," he mumbled. He heard a knock at his door, then stood to open it up.

Yumi was there, smiling brightly as always. "What are you searching for?"

He was nervous, sweating probably as he struggled to meet her smile with one of his. "Some homework." He glanced at her curiously. "Why are you so happy?"

"Oh, just a little something just happened." She was still smiling so much. He was dying of curiosity.

"Fine, a letter." She was shaking in excitement.

"A letter?" Ulrich stuttered.

"Yes, a letter!" she exclaimed. "William gave me this letter and it was so beautiful! The words absolutely blew me away!" She gazed at him wistfully, then shook her head slightly. "Anyway, we're okay now. We're together now. You're okay with that, aren't you?" She glanced at him anxiously.

"Yeah, I'm all right," he spit out venomously. "Now, I think I know where my homework is." He left the room, leaving Yumi to wonder why he was so mad at her.

He knew where William was, and he had murderous intent. When he found him under the tree with his friends, he made his way there to get face-to-face with William.

"We need to talk," Ulrich said, not caring about the other people watching him.

"Okay," William said nonchalantly. He made his way under the other tree, where they seemed to be discreet.

"I know what you did with my letter, you thief," Ulrich spit out venomously. "You'd better confess now, or I'm gonna have to get violent."

William put up his hands in defense, a small smile planted on his face from amusement. "If you want to fight me for no reason, fine, but I have no idea what you're talk about."

"Yeah, you do," Ulrich shoved William's back to the tree. "Now you'd better confess or I'm gonna do something I'm gonna regret all my life."

William shoved him back. "Don't touch me, and I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yeah, you do," Ulrich shoved him again.

"No, I don't," William shoved him again.

This began over and over again until Ulrich shoved William onto the ground. "I'm not going to say this again. Give me back the letter, and tell Yumi you didn't write it," he said. He left William on the ground. He turned back as his hand reached the door.

As he did not expect it, he felt an arm tighten around his neck, and as he gasped for breath, he was brought to the ground. He struggled for breath, punching aimlessly to the back of his head. As he felt the arm loosen around him, he pulled it off and assaulted his attacker.

It was obviously William as he made a fury of punches along his jaw. William blocked some of them, punching him in the stomach as they made their assaults on each other.

They did not pay any mind to the crowd assembling around them, sighing and whispering amongst themselves. It was when Mr. Delmas made his way that they stopped.

"What is this nonsense!" Mr. Delmas demanded, looking at both of them as the crowd began to dissipate. "Get back to your classes everybody! Ulrich, William, come with me to the nurse's."

As they were led into the building, Ulrich was aware of his swollen jaw and the bruise on his left eye and on his cheek. He even began to feel blood trickle from his nose.

"Oh, my!" Dorothy exclaimed, rushing to get antibiotics. "A fight?"

"Yes, Dorothy," Mr. Delmas replied in annoyance. "Now explain to me what happened. What made you so hyped up for this?"

"Ulrich started it!" William exclaimed, pointing at Ulrich. Ulrich looked at William angrily, then noticing the many bruises and cuts made upon his face, mainly upon the jaw, he just smirked.

"Ulrich?" Mr. Delmas exclaimed incredulously. "You started this?"

"He stole something from me," Ulrich began. "It was not his, and he continues to say it's his. And besides, if he hadn't started it, I wouldn't even be here."

"William?" the principal questioned.

"I just borrowed it," he emphasized. "I was going to say he wrote it eventually."

"You do know about my strict policy and consequences upon stealing another's work," Mr. Delmas lectured, "and Ulrich, it is not the right way to settle things by fighting."

"But," both William and Ulrich began.

"Suspension for both of you. Ulrich, you receive five days, William four."

"But Saturday is the day of the game!" It was currently Thursday, and Saturday was the big game against the rival school. If Ulrich was not there, Kadic would be totaled.

"You should have thought of that before you threw that punch," the principal remarked, leaving the room. "Dorothy, make sure each boy receives a note for class, explaining their disappearance and that injuries are taken care of." She nodded and he left the room.

Dorothy observed each of them from a distance. "What set you guys off?" Dorothy asked, coming to rub some antibiotics on a cut on Ulrich's forehead.

He winced as he answered. "Honestly, a girl. Don't tell anyone though."

"Yeah. He wanted my girlfriend and started it because of that." William added. Ulrich balled a fist toward William's direction.

"Really? What's her name?" She began to tap upon a small cut on his chin.

"Some girl named Yumi." He replied, forgetting to wince as she added pressure upon his bruised skin.

* * *

Yumi tapped her pencil upon the desk impatiently. She had some reason to feel so anxious. After all, she had just told her former crush she was with someone else. Moments like that were not so easily let through like this one, especially if this crush was Ulrich Stern.

It bothered her that he did not look a bit annoyed. He could've at least forbade her to date him! After all, everyone else like Odd said he felt the same way about her than she did him, and it was just wrong to doubt gossip from Odd.

She guessed she was a bit hurt. Well, this crush was a heavy rock she did not get over yet, so maybe that was why. She would have expected a protest at least. He always did get mad when William was mentioned.

Maybe that past fight made him think to get along better with William and wipe his slate clean. She supposed it was a good idea, but something was wrong about that.

"Here's your pencil." She was surprised when the girl sitting in the desk across the aisle from her placed her pencil on her desk. She was so distracted that she did not even notice when her pencil rolled off her desk. And William was not in class. She knew he was here today, and he was not one to miss class for anything.

The bell rang for lunch period. Yawning, Yumi made her way out of class into the cafeteria. Maybe Ulrich or William would be there to explain stuff to her, but that thought dissipated when she pushed the doors of the cafeteria and found only Odd at her destination.

"Do you have any idea where Ulrich and William could be?" She could not resist asking. After all, she did care for both of them a great deal. Maybe not equally, but she had no time to debate that now.

"Didn't you hear?" The question got her heartbeat accelerating. "They got into a fight this morning and had to be sent to the nurse."

She bit her upper lip, rising in her seat. "What?"

"Yeah. Ask anyone around here." It would explain a bit. She entered the building earlier than usual to talk to her teachers. At least it was not anything worse.

"So, I hear you and William are an it now." Odd said nonchalantly.

"Yeah," she replied, not smiling a hint. "He just gave me a love letter, and I was impressed." She was not excited like she was moments ago.

"He wrote it?" he asked her disbelievingly.

"Yeah."

"Wow. He can write. And read. Probably," Odd commented.

"When is Ulrich going to get here?" She changed the subject, looking towards the door.

"I don't know," Odd said honestly.

"You're not talking much." Yumi propped herself on her elbows, staring at Odd play with his fingers.

"Ulrich wasn't here this morning. I make a joke, and he usually tells me to shut up. It was boring, and I'm sleepy." He yawned, not covering his mouth.

"Wow," Yumi tapped her fingernails upon the tabletop.

Her head turned when she heard the door open, finding William and Ulrich glaring daggers at each other while entering through the door. They both made their way to the table.

"Wow, you both are pretty beat," Odd said, observing both of them, "with the medicine and the bandages."

"Shut up," William muttered. He placed his hand on Yumi's shoulder, but she moved away. He stood there nervously.

"Well, you shouldn't have pushed me into the ground," snarled Ulrich. "You're such an ignorant idiot."

"Shut up," William repeated, frowning. "Yumi, what did I miss?"

"Some homework and classwork," she replied, absent-mindedly. "What happened?"

"Some fight. William stole something from me." Ulrich answered, glaring at William.

"You guys should just shut up," Yumi interrupted, annoyed. She stood up. "I have to leave now." She walked quickly out of the cafeteria into the school lawn, sitting under the tree on a bench and reading a novel. Ulrich and William sat down across from each other.

"Shouldn't you be with your girlfriend?" Ulrich asked him shortly.

"She's angry. It wouldn't be smart to bother her anymore about this," he replied, gazing at her talk to other random people on the lawn.

"Man, stop playing pretend already! You know it was mine and not yours, so stop being a sore loser." William fisted his hand in front of Ulrich's face, then walked outside.

"Man, you've got the whole world in your hands," Odd said as William left. Ulrich sighed.

* * *

He caught her as she was about to enter the building. She did even gaze at his face the way she used to.

"Yumi, let me explain," said Ulrich, pulling on her arm.

She jerked out of his grasp. "Ulrich, it seems that you are so petty to pick a fight with William, because William pulled some big, juicy steak in front of your face. I know he probably did not say some nice stuff to you and you wanted to get a whack at him, but you are not selfish, at least I think."

He ignored this. "Yumi, it all started when I..."

"You know what? Just stop, okay? You're probably better off that way. You probably don't like seeing me happy. To start a fight with William. For what? To fulfill you're selfish deeds? Well, I have to get home now. Just let me cool off on the way home, okay?"

She stalked off across the school yard, Ulrich's breaking heart going unnoticed to the many people in the lawn.

Ulrich made his way back to his dorm, this heavy weight dragging him down. It was not much of a relief when he landed on his bed until he got down to thinking.

Life was a complete bummer. He was accused of starting a fight, could not play for Saturday, and the girl of his dreams was with the worst guy in the entire stinking world.

He was not used to being hated, especially if he did nothing. It was all William. If he wasn't even in this school then none of this would have happened.

"I knew I would find you in here," Odd said, opening the door. "I have to tell you what you did wrong."

"I did nothing!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah," scoffed Odd, hopping on the floor. "Anyway, back to what I was saying before, you waited too long."

Ulrich frowned. "What do you mean by 'waited too long'?"

Odd sighed. "Wow, and you guys thought I was the idiot. You cannot live your whole life expecting the girl of your dreams to come to you when you've done nothing but wait. Yumi is not going to wait forever. I already warned you, and now she's with William, whether you like it or not 'cause apparently, he's smarter than you."

His frown deepened at the insult. "What the heck, Odd? If you're so smart, what should I so?"

Odd had a proud smile. "Finally! You should not interfere that much though. You know how that plan turned out." Ulrich's eyes rolled. "Show her how much she means to you, but don't turn Romeo and Juliet on her, okay? And don't even try to pretend you have a girlfriend. She would know it's a lie and it would make you look desperate. They're like dogs. They can tell when a guy is desperate."

"How?" was all Ulrich asked.

"Hey, I don't have all the answers! It might be some sixth sense or something..."

"I meant, what should I do?" Ulrich asked, annoyed.

"Well, you figure it out on your own," Odd said with a devilish grin. He sat on his hands. "I'll be sleeping while you spend your suspension. Man, you're so lucky you get to leave class, and the principal told you to!"

"I have a feeling my dad won't be so happy hearing about this," Ulrich said, slipping out a piece of paper to begin his writing.


	3. Argument

_Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko._

A/N: I know it's been the longest time since I last updated, but I've been lost. This chapter would be short several paragraphs if I posted it earlier.

* * *

"You know Ulrich, you should stop wasting your time on trying to write papers. You have a girl to win over, and I certainly know that you know that it is not Sissy," commented Odd as he woke up, voice husky. He checked the digital clock on the bedside table. "Ulrich, do you know it's five in the morning? What is just so important that you had to stay up all night for it?"

Ulrich yawned in response, covering his mouth with an outstretched hand. "Yumi."

"Ah," replied Odd. He moved his blanket to the side, sitting up straight against the wall. "What's happening?" he asked, yawning unexpectedly.

Ulrich didn't care him a glance. "Do you remember when I was searching for that letter? You were right in saying that William did something. He took it, and he gave it to Yumi in his name! She doesn't believe it when I say that I wrote it and that I did not start that fight!"

"Did William confess to actually taking the letter? What if he actually was smart enough to write a letter and give it to Yumi? What if you just lost your letter?" ask Odd as he rubbed his eyes.

"Are you kidding me? You're taking his side?" asked Ulrich in disbelief. "Trust me, he took that letter, wrote it in his name, and told Yumi a bunch of lies to make me look like the loser."

"Okay, fine!" he exclaimed as Ulrich took exhaled deeply. "Just tell me with complete honesty... who threw the first punch?"

Ulrich paused his writing then scratched out an entire line on his paper. "Does it honestly matter? The one thing that does matter though is that I get Yumi's trust back. Everything is wrong," he explained as Odd shrugged in agreement.

"Breakfast starts in a couple of hours. Do you need me to do anything?" Odd stood up and stretched his arms behind his back. "I feel real bad that I cannot do much."

"Don't even mention it. I don't even want to know about how I made you feel bad about this situation, too." Ulrich grumbled, crumbling up his paper. "I am never ever going to ever get this right."

Odd chuckled, pulling back a strand of his blonde hair. "Honestly, Ulrich, you've always been a sucker to stress." Ulrich glared at Odd as Odd laughed, then left, the door closing slowly behind him.

It was an hour later when he heard rapping come from the other side of the door. Ulrich sighed, yelling, "Come in!" The visitor stepped in.

"Hi," Yumi greeted timidly. Ulrich visibly stiffened, his back to her. He heard her sigh behind him. "I'm here to apologize."

He turned around, confusion visible on his face. "Apologize?"

"Yes, apologize." She was on his cot, and she moved closer to him. "William admitted everything." He held his breath. "He admitted that he ticked you off to get you angry and cause trouble. I forgave him, but I have to apologize, so will you forgive me?"

He folded the paper in half, putting it in the first page of his binder. He swiveled in the computer desk. "Of course," he replied, giving her an honest smile. "Come in."

She took this invitation as a good sign, closing the door firmly behind her. She sat on Ulrich's bed. "Report?"

"Huh?" he asked her, rubbing his eyes. He just could not keep them open, even with someone like Yumi in his very presence.

"You look tired," she commented, "and it looks as if you were trying to finish a writing project." She had seen the looseleaf paper and pen on his desk.

"Yeah, yeah," he replied. "It took all night to finish," he lied.

"Oh," she said softly as if speaking loudly would break the obvious to the surface.

"Well," he said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Teachers, you know?" They both chuckled nervously.

"Well, I better be off," she said, inching closer to the door. "See you around..."

"No, wait," he blurted. She stopped, looking at him expectantly.

What was he supposed to say? Did she want him to be an overprotective jerk or a lovesick puppy watching from afar? He could not be both. If he was going to be in love with her, he was going to finally beat the competition.

"I'll see you around, too," he replied. He breathed out a sigh as she left him alone to mentally scold himself. I'll see you around, too? Where did his brain go?

The knob turned. Her head popped in quickly with an apolegetic look on her face. "I'm sorry about bringing William with me into your room. It's your dorm and I had no right to do what I did."

"It's all right," Ulrich admitted as she stepped into the room, closing the door quietly behind herself.

"Ulrich, I hate feeling like you're mad at me."

"I'm not," he said, turning away. He hated confrontations, especially when they were with her. She just made him feel so...

"Then how come you have been avoiding me for the last couple of days? Every time we talk, it always ends up being an argument. I hate these arguments. You're my close friend, and arguing with you is like..."

"I feel the same way," he admitted. He wanted to tell her so badly that she made him feel the way that he was feeling right now, but being in the same room as her fuzzed up his thoughts. She just drove him crazy, but it did not matter now. Nothing mattered between them anymore. Everything felt like a waste. This tension building up was just wasted emotion.

But he could still revel in their friendship. It was the only thing that could happen between them.

"Then why are you so cold and distant toward me? You were not like this before." She had her arm around his shoulders now. "C'mon."

"Yumi, it's not worth it anymore," he said glumly, facing her.

"It's not worth it to be a good friend to me anymore?" she asked him, her voice rising. "You think that just because I'm with William that you are nothing to me anymore?"

The silence was pure negativity, and she sucked in her teeth, a sign that he had surely crossed the line.

"You know what, Ulrich? This morning, I thought that I was going to solve everything between us, but I just cannot handle this anymore." She stomped her way out of the dorm. "I hope you live a happy life," she said curtly before slamming the door closed behind her.

Frustrated, he took the looseleaf paper and ripped it into shreds before throwing them into the trash can and kicking it against the door.


	4. Trash

_Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko._

A/N: Be patient with me. I have to also finish posting '**_It's Not Over_**.' Take a look at it when you can. It's good. I promise you.

* * *

"He needs some help," Aelita murmured. Jeremie nodded in agreement. Odd looked over his shoulder.

"I can hear you guys," Ulrich grunted from next to Odd. He sighed, putting his sandwich down. He pushed his lunch tray away. "I am not hungry."

"You didn't eat anything this morning," said Aelita worriedly. "You should eat something."

"I said I'm not hungry," he repeated in a higher tone. He shook his head. "Sorry, I've just been so lost since that fight with Yumi yesterday. She's so angry with me."

"You trashed our room, Ulrich!" exclaimed Odd. "First you get angry then lost? Isn't it supposed to work the other way around?" Ulrich sent him a wary glance before Odd shrugged and turned to his food.

"She's been with William the entire day," Jeremie observed as he looked out of the window of the cafeteria. The rest of the gang followed his lead, finding Yumi and William walking hand-in-hand around campus.

"Today is just not my day," muttered Ulrich.

Odd playfully slapped him on the back. "Things are going to work out well for you."

"They never do," Ulrich said, glaring at his best friend. "You know they never do. Don't lie to me."

"You guys have been lying to each other long enough," Aelita exclaimed, pressing her hands on the table loudly. "She should not be with him, and you should not be here with us sulking. You need to talk to her as soon as possible!"

"She's irrational," was all Jeremie could offer. "It's not logical to speak to a raged person. She will not listen." He looked at Ulrich. "Wait until she calms down. Until then, do not communicate to her in any way or form."

"I hate myself," Ulrich said. He stood up. "I'll be gone for a while. Don't try to follow me. Call me if anything happens." He added some emphasis on the last sentence.

"All right," Aelita agreed when he left.

"They're driving me insane!" Jeremie suddenly exclaimed when Ulrich left the building. "They're inability to communicate is going to drive me to suicide!"

"Agreed," said Aelita. "I want to just hurt them for being so foolish."

"Quit complaining. I have to room with him," sighed Odd before sipping on his soda. "We have to do something about this, though. He's like this because he's been getting no sleep, and hear this, he's not staying up for any reason. He ripped and threw out all of those paper-thingies he wrote her."

"They're called letters, Odd, and..."

"Shouldn't we let them work it out themselves?" interrupted Aelita in confusion. "Their dilemma does not involve us..."

"I have one idea," interrupted Jeremie. Both Aelita and Odd looked at him strangely.

* * *

She threw her bag by her bed, reaching for the crumpled paper on her bedside table. She hopped onto her bed, holding the letter out in front of her face.

"I sound so desperate, so lovesick, but it's how you make me. I just hope you understand these feelings and talk to me about them later. I really need to talk to you about them," she recited. She repeated these words before eying the entire letter.

He could not help the feeling rising in her chest. Senses told her that something seemed out of place. Not only was her argument with Ulrich so defeating, but the letter seemed just...

She balled the piece of paper up in her hand, throwing it against the door. "It's not worth it anymore," she echoed, copying Ulrich's words. She groaned, flipping over.

* * *

He struggled against his sheets. How come he could get no peace when he was sleeping?

"Ulrich, wake up!" Odd exclaimed. He finally pushed his sheets off of himself, revealing himself to the cool night air, and he yanked Ulrich's sheets off as well. "For heck's sake, wake the heck up!"

"What?" he mumbled. He had stopped thrashing around on his mattress, and he opened his eyes to find an tired, furious boy standing over him. He sat up. "What happened?"

"You happened!" Odd exclaimed angrily. "Just stop moving around when I'm trying to sleep. It's four in the morning. You've been thrashing around all night."

Ulrich sighed as Odd readjusted himself beneath his sheets. "I'm sorry. I just keep getting the same nightmare. Yumi is abandoning me..."

"Dude, why do you have to dream about that? It's happening in real life." Odd bolted up. "I can't sleep now. Thanks buddy."

"It hurts me so much. I know we need to talk. I need to convince her that..."

"I know," interrupted Odd. "It's just like Aelita told us. When Yumi gets with William, you know that something is wrong with the universe."

Ulrich nodded in agreement, fisting his hands. "The fact that he got to her before I did is so..."

"Dude, he's braver than you are, that's for sure," Odd remarked. "You've known Yumi longer, and you have done nothing about it. You're not a homosexual, are you?"

"It's better than asking random girls out and being denied by every one of them."

"Whatever, you're just jealous," Odd laughed.

"Sure, I am," shrugged Ulrich. He stood up awkwardly, finally walking to his desk where he found the leftovers of his work from yesterday.

"We're not starting this again, are we?" asked Odd curiously from his bed.

"Yes, we are," Ulrich replied, determined, when he took a pen into his hand. "And this time, it's going to end somewhere."

She sat up for the third time that night. Checking her clock, she realized it was five in the morning. It was barely dark outside.

The cool carpet and the lingering night air was energizing her. She certainly needed it for today. She did not think she could stand Ulrich's eyes on her for an entire day while she walked around with William or have the feeling that it was Ulrich kissing her instead of William.

Something just felt fishy about that.

Plus, she was beginning to have nightmares about him abandoning her, blaming her for this break in their friendship. She was still shaken from the mental image, the booming words. It was a lot to process.

She took the big ball of paper from the floor, opening it up slowly. The words seemed evil to her now, not proof to adoration, but a promise of destruction.

She rolled it up again and threw it into her trash can.


	5. Rain

_Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko._

A/N: Let me see how this idea ends up.

* * *

She yawned when she woke up. Noticing that it was still dark outside, she slammed her tired hand against her pillow, grumbling a curse.

When was this going to stop? Even now when she was with William, Ulrich was still in her dreams. She wanted it to stop, once and for all.

She turned to her alarm clock on her bedside table. _5:48 AM_

She turned to face the ceiling. She did not have classes today. She breathed a sigh of relief. She did not have to bother herself with either of those boys.

She closed her eyes, mentally counting sheep. "1, 2, 3..." she whispered softly. "6, 7, 8..."

Ulrich was there.

She opened her eyes, scowling as she sat up. She walked up to her trash can, pulling out a balled-up piece of paper. She opened it, straightening out the wrinkles. She frowned as she looked through the words.

Today was going to be a bad day.

* * *

"It's 6:30 AM!" grumbled Odd, looking at Ulrich through one lidded eye. "I got no sleep last night with the sound of that pen scratching on that paper." He turned over. "I don't know why my comfort has to be directly affected by your problems."

"That's because I solve my problems with your solutions," Ulrich stated in a monotone. Odd yawned in response. "I can't do this anymore, trying to salvage everything. Is she worth it anymore?"

Odd sat straight up, glaring straight into his friend's back. "I'm going to have to agree with Jeremie on this one. You're an idiot."

Ulrich groaned, fingers combing his hair back. "I don't enjoy staying up to write apologies that she probably would not even accept anyway! Yumi is so complicated!"

"So you're going to give up just because you're tired?" Odd asked, surprised. "I'm ashamed of you right now. I thought you were better than that. The Ulrich I know doesn't give up because he is 'tired' or 'exasperated.' Remember the days when you used to talk about Yumi all night? Don't you think you should give this a try before you call it hard?"

"Odd, don't lecture me, all right? I've already received enough guilt from yesterday."

"Not enough, apparently. I'm not going to have you break up our group. It's already enough with the tension Yumi and you bring anytime you guys are together. It used to be funny, but now..."

"Odd..."

"I'm going to shower, then eat breakfast." The door was slammed closed.

Their alarm rang.

* * *

She did not know why she agreed to meet him on a day like this. It was cloudy and humid outside. She should be inside, trying to sleep. Yet, she was waiting in front of her house for him.

She saw him approaching from just a block away. She waved her hand. He waved back.

"We're going to the park," he declared when he reached her. She followed by him. "We need to talk."

"I don't know why I agreed to meet you today. She crossed her arms, looking upwards. "It's going to rain."

"I don't care," he said shortly.

"What did you want to talk about?" Yumi asked, taking one of the swings when they reached the park. "Is it this important?"

"You know what I want to talk about," he replied, taking the swing next to her. He tried to match up to her pace. "Don't you dare play that game with me."

She sighed. "Tell me why you don't think our friendship is valuable anymore. You are choosing to throw it away when William decides to date me? Does that make me lower than dirt, Ulrich? Am I too dirty to be your friend?"

"That's not true," he said, pulling and pushing much harder. "Yumi, I value our friendship more than you would ever know. It is just so hard knowing that you might change from being with William. You know that I despise him."

"You despise him for...?" she asked, bringing her feet to the ground at a stop.

"I despise him for..." He could not bring himself to finish his sentence. "I... you..."

"Ulrich, I don't understand what you're saying," she said, irritated, swinging slowly.

"I don't want to lose you," he finally said. He looked up to the sky. "It's beginning to rain..."

"Why do you have to be so possessive over me, Ulrich? I've been with William for a few days, and you get into a fist fight with William, meanwhile discarding our friendship in the process? Do you think I would ever purposely leave you guys for William?" The rain was beginning to pelt. He could feel it through his shirt, his hair limping.

"No! I'm afraid that I would lose you to William," he corrected indignantly. It was hard to see her through the downpour. They quickly made their refuge under one of the parkside trees.

"Stop holding onto me like I'm yours," she frowned. "I don't know why this bothers you so much, Ulrich. It just seems to me that you don't want to see me happy. Anytime I'm with another guy, you always ruin it."

"I don't want to lose you, that's why!" he exclaimed, wiping a drop from his cheek. "Why is it so hard for you to see?" He was waving his hands around now.

"See what? You just have to ruin everything for me, is that it?" Now, not even the foliage was providing a good shelter. The rain had managed to pour through, and it was creating a haze around them, making it a bit harder to see.

"You're the one ruining everything! You and your ways have been driving me crazy! You have been driving me insane! How can you not see that?" he exclaimed. He held onto her upper arms. "Yumi, you're drive me crazy!"

She struggled against his arms. "Let go of me!" she yelled over the rain.

"No! You have to hear me now. You don't understand how it is for me whenever I see you with another guy. When I know you are with William and not me, my blood runs hot. I call to check how you are and you don't answer! You scare me sometimes."

"Let go."

"You say I don't know you! Your favorite color is maroon, and you love rock music. You hate yams, and you love strawberry ice cream. You date a guy who doesn't even know the name of your younger brother!"

The rain began to pour even more, the fat drops stinging and making it even harder to speak. He was distracted. In this moment, she pushed him away. He followed quickly after the black silhoutte barely visible in the pouring rain.

"Yumi, listen to me!" he tried to say above the rain.

"No!" he heard. He hurried his steps, his face stinging, his clothes clinging to his skin. He finally grabbed her shirt. He wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her closely to himself. "Stop trying to make everything all right! It's not your job."

"It's my job to keep you safe and happy. You are not happy. I am not happy, becuase I know I am not doing my job."

The drops were minimizing. He was beginning to see her face, completely soaked up with hair sticking to her face.

"You don't know me like that, Ulrich." She struggled against his grip. "Please, let me go." She was begging now.

"You have to accept this. You allow William to touch you when he doesn't know you like I do. His knowledge of you is not even comparable to mine," he said softly, kissing the tip of her nose. "Please Yumi, listen to me. I am concerned. I don't want us to fall apart, because I..."

"Ulrich?" she asked softly, urging him on.

"I'm not ready," he admitted, "but I care about you too much to fight over stupid things."

"Me, too," she agreed. "It's just that the thought of you makes me so angry. I don't even know why, but when I see you, I just get reminded that you failed me. You failed me as a friend, Ulrich. I never would have expected you to do that to me."

"I'm sorry," he apologized, loosening his hold on her. "I should not have been so irrational."

"I forgive you," she smiled, tangling her fingers in his. "I feel at peace now. Is that normal?"

He noticed at that moment that it had stopped raining completely. There was still a haze, but the stormy clouds were receding, the sun just barely peeking out. The moment was magical, the water clinging everything to their skin, both bonded with their fingers. This was the closest he had been with her in weeks.

"I feel the same way," he observed. He looked at her bright eyes. "I will see you at school." He reluctantly pulled his fingers away, but he knew he had to leave before he would do something that he would regret.

"See you," she said, waving his goodbye, sporting the biggest smile she had in days. She waved until she could see him no more then turned around and headed home.


	6. In the Dorm Rooms

_Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko._

A/N: I certainly enjoyed last chapter's rain scene. I loved it until the very end.

* * *

"You're awfully quiet," Odd concluded when he came back from breakfast that morning. "You're not writing. What's up?"

"There's no need to write anymore," Ulrich said, sighing as he leaned back into his bed. "It's all over."

"Really?" Odd asked, taking his place on his own bed. "This is teriffic. So tell me why you aren't with us down at breakfast."

"Not hungry," Ulrich shrugged. "Is Yumi there?" he asked curiously.

"I didn't see her. Why?" he asked.

"Nothing," Ulrich replied quickly.

* * *

She was not with them at lunch.

He took a quick bite before telling them that he wanted to walk for a while. They told him it was okay, and he breathed fresh air when he left the building.

It was a windy day, though the rain clouds were receding. He was reluctant to search around campus for her, but he knew he had to. He could not prolong this anymore.

When he had thought he had searched everywhere, he found her by the front gate, sulking as she gazed outwards.

"It's me," he greeted loudly, taking a seat beside her. It was hard to be audible. "How long have you been out here?"

"I would rather not talk about it." He was surprised that she was not reacting to the cold wind. She was still, desolately staring at the ground.

"Let me talk and you just shake your head." He concluded that her silence was in agreement. "Have you been with William all morning?" He took a seat next to her, rubbing his hands down the goosebumps forming on his arms.

She shook her head no.

"Why are you all alone?" he asked her, leaning against her unconsciously.

She lifted her head, turning to look at him. "I broke it off with him. I don't ever want to see him again." She thinned her eyes, daring him to ask her why.

He waited a few minutes before asking, "Why?"

"Does it really matter to you?" she glared, shielding her eyes with her hand. Not only was the cold wind blowing through his entire self, the sun was glaring its light brightly over him. How could she stand to be in this weather?

"More than you will ever know," he replied as the wind played around through his strands. "Tell me."

She sighed in defeat. "William was at my house when I came back after our meeting at the park. He thought that it would be the perfect thing to do to surprise me." She chuckled. "He figured out that I was with you, and he got insanely jealous. I said that I couldn't handle it anymore with him and I broke it off."

"Then why are you sulking?" he asked, growing numb to the wind pushing at his body.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I feel like I just lost a piece of me when I told him to leave my house... like..."

"It's because he told you he loved you, right?" Ulrich murmured.

"I don't know," she repeated. "Ulrich, I don't know anything anymore." She shivered slightly.

"What if William had not truly written it?" he asked her. "What would have happened then?"

"I don't think anything would have happened," she admitted.

"You would have been happy," he said, tucking the strands of her hair behind her ear, though the wind blew the strands out again.

"I thought I was happy, but everything seemed like it was for the wrong reasons, you know?" she said.

"I know," he agreed. She shivered again. "Do you want to go into the cafeteria?"

"Sure," she agreed readily. They both hurried into the building.

* * *

"We need to talk," he said in a hushed whisper. She inched herself chair from him, trying to pay attention to the boring instructor in the front of the classroom. "Yumi!"

She ignored him for the entire period. When class was dismissed, he encountered her by her locker, planting his arm by her face and standing a bit too closely in front of her.

"Yumi, we have to talk about yesterday."

She frowned in irritation. "We have nothing to talk about, William. I told you that I did not want to deal with you anymore. What is so hard to understand about that?" She began walking away. She couldn't wait to walk home. Alone.

"I'm sorry I got jealous, but I couldn't help it. There's no knowing what the Stern guy would do."

"You don't trust me to defend myself?" she exclaimed, turning around to face him. "What kind of girl do you think I am?"

"It's not you I don't trust, Yumi. It's Stern!"

"And you don't trust me around him," she concluded shortly. "I can't deal with that, William. Let me go and live on with your life already!"

"What about my confession, huh? My feelings mean nothing to you anymore?"

"Now you're just sounding sappy," she said, frowning and crossing her arms. "Besides, you sound like having feelings should be disposed of. I'm not convinced that you wrote it to me. It just seemed wrong to me when I reread it this morning."

"You just don't know me," he said, shaking his head. "You cannot just leave me like that." He grabbed her wrist when she tried to walk away.

She turned around, yanking her wrist out of his grasp. "If you try to stop me one more time, I will show your sorry butt how truly angry I am," she threatened. She turned around and began walking away.

She stopped abruptly, turning to face him again. "And if you _dare _insult or bother my friends again, I will hit you senselessly until you start singing lullabies." And she stomped off.

* * *

When she got home, she ripped up the wrinkled paper and dumped the pieces in the trash can.

She smiled. It was about time she threw it out. She wanted no more of him or any evidence that she had some feelings for him. She shivered. She must have been high or something...

She was interrupted by the sound of her cell phone ringing. She flipped it open.

"Yumi here," she greeted jubilantly.

"Hey, it's Ulrich. I'm just wondering what you're doing now," he replied nervously.

Her smile grew wider. "I'm doing nothing. How about you?

"I saw you and William in the hallway," he admitted. "That's the real reason why I'm calling."

"Oh." She frowned. "He can't get over it. I told him that I would beat him up in the hallway at that moment if he did not stop harassing me. He really needs to get over it."

"He does," he agreed over the phone. "Sometimes I wish I could just beat him up for y-- **_Odd, how many times do I have to tell you to stop looking thr-!_** --Um, could you hold on for a second, Yumi?"

She was chuckling when she heard some shuffling and shouting on the other end of the phone. She checked her clock at least five times before he responded again.

"Sorry, Odd was being kinda annoying," he apologized distractedly.

"I know how that goes," she laughed. "I'll talk to you tomorrow morning. Bye."

"Bye," he said, hanging up.

* * *

"You haven't been writing in your diary for a while," Odd observed. He had the book in his hands once again.

Ulrich put his phone in his pocket, glaring at Odd. "Give it back to me."

"You already tell me this stuff anyway. You just go into more detail in this book," Odd grinned, keeping the book out of Ulrich's reach.

"I'm serious Odd, if you don't give it to me, I will..." He groaned when Odd pulled it out of his reach again. "Odd!"

"So you were talking to Yumi, huh?" Odd asked. "Did you finally tell her that you love her?" he asked teasingly. "Ulrich and Yumi sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N... hey!"

"Yes!" Ulrich grinned, the book now in his hands. "Now will you stop bothering me?"

"No! I'm just happy because you aren't going to keep me up at night or in the morning anymore. I'm finally going to get some sleep! Yes, yes, yes!" He started jumping on his bed. "Ulrich and Yumi sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in a baby carriage!"

"You're making too much noise, Odd," frowned Ulrich, his cheeks reddening.

"I never make too much noise," Odd exclaimed. He stopped jumping. "Hey, do you know where William's dorm is?" he asked suddenly.

Ulrich looked at him in confusion. Odd was grinning deviously.


	7. Conspiracy

_Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko._

A/N : I blame the invention of the laptop for my quick updates. Haha, feeling mischievious today. (I am officially a high school freshman today)

* * *

"What was up with Odd calling me at ten at night for William's dorm room number?" she asked Ulrich when she made her way to campus. "I was almost asleep, too!"

"He kept me up all night," Ulrich grumbled, rubbing his eyes. "I think he is even happier about your break-up with William than I am."

"He kept calling and texting me. He sent me thirty-seven emails last night!" she exclaimed angrily. "I need to find that son-of-a-gun. I need confrontation."

"I'm just glad you guys are over with," Ulrich sighed.

"Really?" Yumi asked. "After that call, I had the best sleep in weeks."

"Even with Odd jumping around and singing to his music player, me too," Ulrich admitted. He scratched the back of his neck. "Everything is back to normal now?"

"I suppose so." She grinned. "I'm happy."

He smiled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Then I'm happy, too."

* * *

He was laughing evilly as he searched through the dark room. He checked the clock. He would be back in half an hour from instrumental practice.

"It's called a trash can, lazy horn blower," he muttered as he sifted through the junk underneath the bed. "Picture of Yumi. Picture of himself and Yumi. Picture of himself. Heart with picture of Yumi in it. A note with Yumi's handwriting on it... Oh yeah, got the goods!"

He flattened it, folding the precious piece of paper so it would fit in his pocket. Whistling, he made sure the lights were off and the door was locked before he left the room.

It was time to make the universe right again.

* * *

"Ulrich, you do not have to do that for me," she frowned, attempting to take her textbooks from him. He kept them out of her reach, however.

"I feel energized. Let me do something for you. Is that a crime?"

"If I miss class, it will be," she threatened. He sighed when they reached her classroom.

"See you afterschool," he said, handing her the books. She nodded, smiling when he left.

He was grinning when he came back to his dorm room.

"What is Yumi's address?" Odd asked, clearly distracted with the job he was trying to finish, his back keeping it all hidden from Ulrich's vision.

"218 Forrest Ave. Why?" Ulrich looked at Odd suspiciously, closing the door slowly behind him.

"Nothing," Odd replied, smiling from ear to ear. "Did anything happen today?"

"Nope," Ulrich said, shaking his head. "Nothing at all happened today. I did get a warning for being late to class again today."

"How sweet. Ulrich was walking the girl of his dreams to class again. That is so romantic." Though Odd was facing the wall, Ulrich was pretty certain that he was sporting a silly grin. Pretty soon after, Odd was making kissing noises.

"Shut up, Odd," Ulrich said, bouncing off of his mattress. "Why didn't I see you at lunch? You always eat lunch."

"I was busy, you know?" Odd chuckled nervously. "It's nothing you should be worried about."

"Really?" Ulrich asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," Odd reassured him. He turned around to face him. "Do you need me to prove to you that I am perfectly fine?" He stood up.

"No!" Ulrich exclaimed, covering his eyes.

"That's better," Odd said, sitting back down. Ulrich uncovered his eyes. "Let me tell you something, Ulrich."

"What?" he asked, going to get a change of clothes in his closet.

"The best way to give something is by surprise."

"What do you mean?" Ulrich asked, leaving.

"You'll see," Odd said, alone in the dorm room, pushing the letter into his pocket. "You'll see." And he left the room as well.

* * *

"It's genius," Odd said to Jeremie. Ulrich frowned when he neared the table. "Phase four is already complete."

"Phase four of what?" asked Ulrich. Odd snapped his head up.

"Nothing," Jeremie said quickly. "We were just talking about this thing in Lyoko."

"Yeah..." Ulrich said, giving both of them a suspicious look before leaving to wait by the front gate for Yumi.

* * *

"He called several more times last night," Yumi said, biting her lower lip as she reached Ulrich. "He's begging. I have no idea what to do."

"He's a lowlife," growled Ulrich. "I think that you should just ignore them. Did you confront him yesterday?"

She shook her head. "He wasn't here yesterday."

"He had better be here today," Ulrich scowled. He sighed. "He's impossible."

"We're impossible," she replied, now seated and staring blankly at the campus grounds.

"You know I care about you," Ulrich reminded her. "I would do anything to make you happy. That's my job."

"That sounds sappy," she told him. "You're telling me the truth?"

"It's all true," he said. "I would not lie to you."

She looked him straight in the eye. "You promise?"

"I promise. No lying," he declared. She smiled.


	8. Confrontation

_Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko._

A/N: You deserve confrontation, so I am going to give it to you. (Thanks for all of the reviews. They're fantastically awesome.)

* * *

"You have mail, Yumi!" yelled Hiroki. She groaned, hurrying down the stairs with her backpack bouncing off of her back. "C'mon, lazy!"

"Shut up, Hiroki," she said, breathless from taking a shower and changing in less than ten minutes, meanwhile running down the stairs with her backpack barely intact. She snatched the letter from his hand.

"I bet it's from Ulrich," he teased her, making kissing noises. She frowned, ripping the edge of the letter open to slip out the paper.

"What the...?" she asked, raising both eyebrows in surprise.

* * *

"I didn't see Yumi today," Ulrich frowned when he sat with his buddies at their table. "She's late."

"Don't be so sad, Ulrich. You act like she died or something," Odd said, taking a sip of his juice. "You're so emotional. Man up or something."

"She might have some business at home," Aelita suggested. "I'm sure she will make it to school."

"She may not even be late. You just have not seen her. Maybe she does not want to be seen?" Jeremie suggested.

"Sorry, Einstein, but that just makes no sense," Odd chuckled.

"Why would she be avoiding me, then?" asked Ulrich.

They all shrugged, though they were all generally thinking pretty much the same thoughts.

* * *

"We need to talk," Yumi said in a hushed whisper, pulling him in by the vending machines.

He was surprised until he noticed who had yanked him from the crowd. "Oh, so you've decided that you want me back?" he asked smugly. "I knew all of those messages would knock you to your senses."

"Shut up, arrogant horn blower," Yumi frowned. "Everything that you've told me is a lie. The letter and everything is a lie. Everything I felt for you was based on a lie!"

"What would give you the impression of that?" he asked, scowling. "Yumi, if you're just trying to scare me here, it's not really working.

"You stole it from Ulrich, William. That was why it sounded so unlike you," she growled. "You lied to me!"

He paled. "Yumi..."

"You don't even know me! What is your deal, thinking you can get a girl just by acting like that? You're a first-class jerk. You're the worst example of a human being I've ever known. You're the lowest of the low. I hope that I never..."

"Don't make accusations based on nothing," he interrupted.

"I have enough proof to make the entire school hate you. And stop messaging me! I deleted them all. It's called Caller-ID, stupid."

"You think you can threaten me like that?" he asked, stepping forward.

"You played me. Now just get away from my sight or I'll really show you how angry I am." She frowned, crossing her arms as he walked away.

She sighed as she leaned against the vending machine, breathing deeply. She was so disappointed right now...

He didn't tell her.

She sucked in her teeth.

He didn't **_tell _**her!

* * *

"You should've told me," she frowned when she encountered him while he was leaving his last period class. "You did not tell me! I feel so used!"

"Tell you what?" he asked, confused with the place of events. She yanked him onto the quiet side of the hallway. "Yumi, why are you so angry?"

"You basically lied to me!" she exclaimed.

"Lied about what?" he questioned. "Yumi..."

"The letter, Ulrich, unless you have lied to me about other things, too!" She exhaled deeply. "If I had known that Wiliam had not wrote it..."

"I tried to tell you, but you have been angry with me every single day. You never would have believed me!"

"What makes you think that?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"The letter was why I got into that fight with William, yet you believed William was the victim, not me!"

"You provoked him!" she exclaimed. "You should have told me about it, instead of stalling with all of this time!"

"What would have telling you done, huh?" he asked, rage running through his veins. "Tell me what it would have changed."

"Everything," she said softly. "Telling me that you wrote it would have changed everything."

"How so?" he asked her, his tone quieting down. It was then he realized that no one else was in the hallway.

"We would not be playing this game with each other," she stated softly, staring at her feet. She looked up into his eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow. I have to take care of Hiroki today."

"Bring it with you tomorrow morning, I'll be underneath the tree."

She nodded and left.

* * *

He was so exhausted. There were so many confrontations he made today. His parents were still getting on his back for getting into that fight, and that argument with Yumi...

He widened his eyes in realization, immediately crouching down and searching through the various papers and photographs underneath his bed.

It was not there.

* * *

"You told her," he accused him. He slammed the door closed behind him, indicating to his roommate that he had come inside.

Odd took off his headphones. "What's the big deal, Romeo?"

"You told her," he repeated. "I just want to know how."

"I did what you were supposed to do," he reminded her. "I sent her that letter. I told her everything that happened."

"I thought I threw all of them away..." he frowned.

Odd grinned. "Not all of them."

* * *

The next morning, she came as agreed, finding him sitting alone underneath the tree. He was shadowed under the glaring sun. She shielded her eyes as she made her way towards him, gripping a white slip of paper in her right hand.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, not looking at her as she sat down beside him. "I didn't mean for all of these things to happen. I should have..."

"You deserved to play that game, even if the forward on their team was sick with influenza, and you guys still won," she protested. "Be glad that this is the only thing that will happen." She opened the leaflet and handed it to him.

He took his time to read it. "Did you read all of it yet?" She nodded. "He changed it before giving it to you. He's smart to type it. You would have recognized my handwriting in an instant, wouldn't you?"

"Like you would mine," she replied, grinning.

"Did you really believe that he wrote it when he gave it to you, though? Did you really believe that he had that type of side to him?"

"People change," she said shortly, softly. She leaned into him as they rested by the tree trunk.

"Sissi," he replied. They both shared a breath as they stared out at campus.

"I feel the same way," she said, breaking the silence. She bolted straight up, gazing into his eyes.

He stared into those hypnotic brown orbs before shaking his head. He had to be focused in a moment like this. "That's good," he smiled serenely.

"So... what happens now?" she asked, leaning into his warmth again.

"What do you want to happen?" he asked back, wrapping his arm around her shoulders comfortably.

"I want everybody to know about... us, you know?" She stiffened against him nervously. "Do you want to keep us private?"

"Definitely not," he growled softly. "There are jerks around here. If I see another guy flirt with you knowingly again, I think I will go crazy on him..."

"Wow Ulrich," she exclaimed. "You're so angry."

"Furious," he corrected. "Yumi, I am so tired of waiting. We have already wasted so much time. This tension between us is crazy."

"It is," she agreed. "I don't want to call you my boyfriend, and I don't want to be called your girlfriend. I mean, Odd is my **_boy _**friend, you know? We're better than that."

"Well then, you're my Yumi," he grinned, holding her close.

She snuggled closer into him, smiling, "And you're **_my _**Ulrich."

* * *

A/N: No, this is not the end. I would like you readers out there to guess what I have planned for the last chapter. I would like to see how well you know me.

Consider it a challenge ;P


	9. Gossip

_Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko._

A/N: Here's a little treat to all of my reviewers/readers/etc. I didn't plan to have this chapter here, but well, things change.

This is the last chapter. Thanks for this joy ride that all of you have put me in, and all of the positive feedback I have received. I will not display any names, but it takes a lot for me to write more than a sentence responce for each review ;) Now read on!

* * *

_**(The day before...)**_

_"You want me to put this in the newspaper tomorrow?" exclaimed the editor, holding a freshly-copied paper in her hand. "Wouldn't this invade his priv-?"_

_"They won't care," he grinned. "He wants everyone to read this, trust me." She reluctantly handed it over to her staff, watching him with the edge of her eyes suspiciously._

_"Don't worry, I already changed all of the names... I think," he shrugged, saying the last two words after leaving the room._

* * *

**(Today...)**

It seemed like every person on campus held today's edition of the _Kadic Herald_, pointed at them, or whispered hushed words behind their hands. Adding to that, every person they walked past looked at them weirdly.

"Do I have something on my face?" Yumi whispered. "We're not doing anything strange, are we?"

"No, and I don't think so," he frowned. He took a newspaper from the rack. Surprisingly, it was nearly empty, not as full as usual.

She watched intently as he flipped the pages. "There's nothing that unusual in here..."

They both widened their eyes when Ulrich reached the middle of the newspaper.

Ulrich was blinking rapidly.

Yumi squinted.

"**_ODD_**!" yelled Ulrich.

They both made a run for it to the dorms' building.

* * *

Aelita chuckled as she read the article over and over again, eyes lighting up. Meanwhile, Jeremie frowned as he watched the crowd outside of his window in interest. "I definitely told you not to do that. It was not part of the plan."

"Well, he wanted everyone to know," Odd smirked, leaning against the door.

"You know Yumi and Ulrich will find you," Jeremie stated, spinning in his chair to face him. Aelita nodded in agreement. "They will make an example of you," Jeremie smirked.

"No, they won't!" exclaimed Odd, running out of Jeremie's dorm room.

Jeremie shook his head, looking back to the article in the newspaper in his hands. "It's about time, too."

"I know," murmured Aelita.

They both read in silence.

* * *

_**Confessions from A Soccer Jock?**_

_By Milly Solovieff_

The gossiping crowd stirred when a fight occurred about a week ago on campus between Ulrich Stern and Yumi Ishiyama's ex-boyfriend William Dunbar. Witnesses say that words of a letter kept repeating in their heated argument before the fight occurred. Ishiyama gave no comment.

Rumors have been circulating that the relationship between Ishiyama and Dunbar has ended. Some witnesses have seen them arguing in the hallways, stating that Ishiyama would yell threats at Dunbar to leave her alone and such. Many hopefuls have been waiting in line for this opportunity, one of them, of course, being Ulrich Stern, the center forward on our soccer team.

When asked about their relationship with each other, both Stern and Ishiyama reply that they each share a "close friendship". However, many people rumor that they both cannot just be friends. Perhaps the relationship they share is platonic, ponders the student body and even some teachers. It is countless the number of times they have been seen alone together. Whether way, the student body is uncertain if such an emotional attachment is existent or both students have emotional problems. Though the latter seems to be more logical with Stern's quiet and too shy nature and Ishiyama's infamous temper, both of the so-called friends have plenty of admirers.

Yesterday, a letter was anonymously handed to the editor-in-staff for printing as evidence of such affections (Sorry, the names were not changed). Ulrich Stern fangirls, you may want to keep the letter, because it is most likely that it will be the only love you will receive from him. This is the letter, word for word, for our dedicated readers:

_Dear Yumi,_

_I'm not good at this kind of thing. You have seen first-hand how horrible my writing grades are. However, I will check the dictionary for you, because this letter counts._

_How do I start? I'm not really good with my feelings. I'll try to be straightforward then, since this is how we've been able to stand to be around each other for so long. Seeing you with William makes me angry. Seeing you with any other guy and having him flirt with you makes me even angrier. Let me tell you this now._

_Those other guys do not know how to treat you. You are independent. You are strong. You are stubborn but your kindness has no limits. It's no wonder that no many other guys like you, but they do not know you like I do. They do not know how to treat you like you should be treated._

_I don't want anymore of this loveless business. I don't want our relationship to be purely platonic. I'm dying a little bit more day-by-day because of you. This tension between us is so obvious. I'm not sure if you feel it too, but I am so tired of acting like it is not there. I'm tired of this thing between us._

_Saying that I care about you in an understatement. I want us to be so much more than what we have right now which is a lot. Not many friends are as close as we are right now, and I understand that asking more from you is a lot._

_Do I love you? I don't know how it feels to love someone, but I surely care about you and I always want to see you happy. That makes me happy. Is that love? I don't know. I know I just don't like you. That would be a waste of my time, just trying to tell you that I liked you._

_I have to admit that this is easier than saying it outloud. If you were to walk up to me and tell me that you felt the same way, I would be frozen to the ground. The word love scares me. I suppose I am not ready for it yet._

_Whether way, I need some response from you. Tell me that you feel the tension between us and you want to resolve it. Mail me. Email me. Heck, text me if you want to._

_Your 'Friend'  
Ulrich_

Is a romantic relationship imminent in our future? We'll just have to wait and see!

* * *

_A/N: At first, I was planning the last paragraph of the previous chapter and the letter for this chapter to be the ending for this story, but I thought it would be too drab, so I changed it. I hope this chapter was all that you expected, because this story surely surpassed all of my expectations (and the amount of positive feedback... wow!)._


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